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Woodrow Boughregard
"What is a man without his word? What is a man without his honor? What is a man without his country? Such a man is nothing!" -Lieutenant Boughregard doing an excellent job of living up to his father's upbringing. * Woodrow Acornelius Boughregard is one of the main protagonists (?) of the alpha campaign of Contested Legacy/Lineage and though he has been mentioned in the beta campaign he has yet to appear. Named after his first cousin once removed and paternal great grandfather, Lieutenant Boughregard was born into a life of great privilege and even greater expectations. As the son of Dixon war hero Colonel Oakley Boughregard the young Woodrow has followed in his father's footsteps as a solider and though he owns nothing in his own right he remains the sole heir to his family's vast estate. Like his father, Woodrow Boughregard is brave, patriotic, cunning, always ready for a fight, and willing to make any sacrifice for the important things in his life. Unlike his father, he is a more reserved man and better at concealing his feelings. This pairs well with his ambitious nature and helps hide the fact that he desperately craves the approval of the respected members of his society. Though he does his best to make his father's views his own, he is ashamed of harboring secret doubts and does his best to cast them off. History Early Life Woodrow Boughregard is the first born and sole surviving child of Oakley and Timberly Boughregard who raised him according to the traditions of the South. Woodrow quickly came to idolize his father and spent much of his early childhood trailing after him as he attended to the affairs of his sprawling estate. From the sun's rising to its setting Woodrow's head was filled with his father's war stories, druidic wisdom, philosophy and planter's tricks. Though every so often Oakley would insist that Woodrow run along as the adults had "matters to attend to" (signifying the need to deal with a disobedient slave). During his time alone the young sapling would practice his druid skills, sword play and horsemanship. In time Woodrow grew to excel at all three. There were not many other children around and so Woodrow would often wonder off and converse with the plants and animals growing and living on the plantation. The only place Woodrow was absolutely forbidden from going was the Hemperson property across the stream that ran on the left side of the estate. One day however his horse tripped on a large root and threw Woodrow from his saddle which prompted a young Chlorophelia Hemperson to run over and attend to the wounded duo. Woodrow was impressed by girl's Cure Wounds spell as he had not yet learned it and asked the girl if she would be obliged to teach it to him. She happily agreed and the two spent the afternoon together showing off and teaching their various spells. Woodrow invited her over to the mansion for dinner but while his parents were at first happy to see him with a friend his own age they quickly rushed her off the property once they learned her surname and forbade Woodrow from ever seeing her again. Oakley decided that Woodrow was old enough to accompany him on his visits to the estates of his business partners. From these visits Woodrow assembled a rambunctious group of planter druids who got into all sorts of high-jinks. Though they certainly never did anything too mischievous as the rule loving Woodrow made sure they never made too much trouble. However, one day Woodrow's innocence was forever changed as he took part in an old Boughregard custom. Though his father waited until Woodrow had turned 130 rather than the usual 80 the Colonel, like his father, insisted that it was of paramount importance that Woodrow whip a disobedient gnome so that he would be able to perform the responsibility of a planter someday. The experience deeply affected the young dryad and though he learned to embrace his destiny along with his father's worldview he never really escaped his sense of guilt. He began to develop doubts about the morality of the plantation system but after his father had Reverend Wheatfield speak to him Woodrow learned never to speak of these to anyone again and threw himself into the literature of plantation apologetics in order to convince himself of the morality of his family's business. One challenge to this occurred when he attended the Grand Cotillion in Tidewater and became reacquainted with Chlorophelia Hemperson. Woodrow was smitten with her upon seeing the young debutante but he kept his courting of her a secret for fear of disappointing his father. As the two spent more time together Chlorophelia revealed her disgust towards Dixie's slave economy and encouraged Woodrow to explore his doubts. They fell in love but Woodrow refused to abandon his father's worldview for fear of alienating the man who raised him. Another great shock occurred when Woodrow learned that he would be headed to VMI to follow in his father's footsteps as a solider while Chlorophelia was headed to a northern college. Before he departed tragedy struck as his pregnant mother died giving birth to a sister who died a few days later. However, before she died Woodrow's mother made her son promise to use all that had been given to make a name for himself not as a killer like his father but as a man of law and government. It was then that Woodrow's political ambitions were born. He spent a year comforting his father and managing his estate while Oakley dealt with his losses. Woodrow would eventually graduate from VMI a year early. During these years Woodrow grew into a very serious man bent on becoming the kind of person who could one day win enough respect to become governor. After graduating Woodrow spent time in a inactive military and dreamed of the day where he would win glory like his father. He wanted to be more than a war hero but he could never give up that fantasy entirely. Eventually Woodrow helped his father campaign for Donald J. Trunk but he did so with a great deal of reservations and personally found the man abhorrent. However, like his father he could never really bring himself to support a rumored abolitionist like Bernie Sandalwood. Woodrow and the "Northern" Civil War Woodrow spent the lead-up to war corresponding with his father while managing the family's estate in Colonel Boughregard's absence. Though a competent administrator, Woodrow longed for an opportunity to demonstrate his bravery. Eventually he got it after Count Hapsburg and his men outnumbered the Lieutenant, burned the farm down and carried off the gnomes. To make matters worse Woodrow's father's speech in favor of Princess Shiryan in congress lead to the assassination of Governor Trunk and a coup by the supporters of General Brassidas. Woodrow rushed to the aid of his father's faction and fought along side other supporters of Shiryan when Legume's Rebellion fell. After being promoted to Captain for saving his superior officer's life Woodrow became Dixie's representative in Shiryan's court. There were many who saw the newly promoted General Oakley Boughregard as a replacement for the New Governor Sandalwood and thus the governor hoped to placate the general. This was the reason for Woodrow's appointment and instilled in the new Captain an even deeper desire to prove himself in the eyes of his peers. Skeptical of his new associates; the dandy Lucentio; the charlatan Atmos and the cannibal Hildorfr, Woodrow nevertheless sought impress the Princess and her court. Woodrow and his compatriots achieved great renown and success together, rescuing the princess' family, defeating a powerful demon bear, bringing the orcs into the fold, securing the aid of Consul Calagar and the North, and aiding the princess in retaking two key forts from enemy. However, Woodrow often clashed with Hildorfr's anarchist ideas and disliked his and Lucentio's god complexes. Eventually tensions broke when Hildorfr insulted Woodrow's father in public and a duel was held. Fortunately no one was killed after Oakley interceded on Hildorfr's behalf. Woodrow never did Oakley's "boys will be boys" attitude. Shortly after this Woodrow finally got his chance to avenge his losses to Count Hapsburg. Woodrow schemed with Lucentio to capture and execute the dandy's father and the group succeed in rescuing the gnomes from being killed by Lucentio's vampire ancestor. However, when the time came to execute the count the young dandy ran off with his father before Woodrow could get his revenge. Swords were drawn and harsh words were exchanged. Woodrow hunted the two down but not before Lucentio was able to the conversation with his father that Woodrow did not trust them to have. "Woodrow please, your father is a man who was always respected the importance of family. Let me speak to mine alone" "You can speak to your father here and now. " "Do honor and revenge mean so much to you?" You know perfectly well that they do." -Lucentio and Woodrow before Lucentio's flight "DAMN IT! A MAN WOULD NEVER JUST SIT BACK AND LET HIS KIN GET HANGED... even with kin as bad as the Count. I should't have trusted him on this. AFTER HIM!" -Woodrow to his men Furious over this apparent betrayal the humiliation of failing to defend his house and home came rushing back to Woodrow as he raced through the woods searching for the two Hapsburgs. Fortunately the country gentle man and the noble never came to blows as Lucentio released his father to the dryad's wrath upon learning the truth he needed to hear from the Count. True to his family's word Woodrow did indeed string the Count up by his own entrails. The guilt hit the minute the Count's neck broke. Woodrow never thought of himself as a cruel man and the knowledge that he would not be ridiculed in Dixie for failing to avenge his household did little to ease his conscious. Tensions between Woodrow and Lucentio naturally ran high after the Hapsburg incident. The two continued to travel with one another in spite of this as Lucentio had no where to go and Woodrow could not help but feel as though he owed something to Lucentio. The group traveled north in the hopes of avoiding any imperial authorities to seek out the Revolutionaries for employment. Category:Characters Category:Alpha Campaign Category:Early Heroes